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Why I Do Not Want to Become an Usborne Books Consultant (and a Discussion about Accountability)

I don’t know about you, but I enjoy checking my email inbox. I always wonder just what will be waiting on me.

Lately, more often than not, my brow furrows as I open yet another invite to become an Usborne Books Consultant.

Now, before I go any further, I’m going to share a short 10 minute video about this topic. If you have the time to watch it instead of reading this article, please do. I share actual photos and wording from these books in the video. My heart is just to share a few things that I’ve encountered in Usborne books as a sister in Christ who cares about you very much. I promise, if you sell these books, I do not judge your intentions.

From my experience, most Usborne books are really great. And when I say really great, I mean really great. They are engaging and children love them. So what’s the big deal?

Why not sell them? I mean, making money while selling something your children really enjoy sounds like a win-win to me.

I guess let me take you back to about ten years ago when I used Sonlight (which I do not recommend) curriculum. Sonlight included several Usborne books which, well, really rubbed me the wrong way.

Evolution and old earth/big bang theories were taught as fact.

Nude drawings were included.

Some might wonder why the theory of evolution is such a big deal. The problem with evolution is simple… it steals glory from God, and our whole lives should be based around giving God glory! God is who created the earth and man, and evolution is man’s way of explaining it in our own terms.

As I flipped the pages with my young child, I realized that this isn’t how I wanted to teach my child after a few years time. Our days should be filled with truth, and with what is good, noble, and worthy of praise.

I eventually stopped using the curriculum and those Usborne books. But lately, I have been inundated with requests about becoming a consultant and really felt lead to share my heart about this. I asked my Facebook friends how they felt about the topic, and several folks said that they used the books, but…

glued pages together…

used their Sharpie marker…

before giving the books to their children.

Now, if you just use Usborne books in such a manner all is well and good. But what if you sell the books which are contrary to God’s Word to others through your site? Would you be held accountable if other’s are lead astray because of something you sell them?

“If anyone causes one of these little ones–those who believe in me–to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

Matthew 18:6

This is definitely something to consider, ladies. And the same holds true for any influence that we allow into our home. We will be held accountable, even if most of the books that we sold were incredible! You see, that’s how Satan works. He appears as an angel of light, and then sneaks in bits and pieces of untruth.

Update: I recently shared the reason why Teach the Diligently conventions speaks strongly against the selling and teaching of Old Earth Theory and Evolution. Their reason is wonderful ladies, please take a look!

I love and care for you as a sister in Christ, and I hope that this is something that you will at least consider. If you have the time, please feel free to watch the video above. May God richly bless you!

72 thoughts on “Why I Do Not Want to Become an Usborne Books Consultant (and a Discussion about Accountability)”

Really good information. I didn’t watch the video, but I am surprised that they include the evolution and nudity yet Sonlight still uses them in their curriculum. Thanks for sharing. Also, any book that you have to take a sharpie to in order for it to be safe for your kids could probably be replaced by a better book LOL

Your post caught my eye over at Titus 2 Tuesday because I’ve been hearing a lot about the company lately. Some of the same things you said bothered me about Sonlight (and we used permanent markers, too. 🙂 ) Thanks for sharing and have a blessed day.

Thanks for sharing! I have a few of their books but I don’t think they’re as great as everyone makes them out be to. Some are good but I have to agree with you on the point you made about evolution and nude picture are not something I want to teach my child at a young age. Found this post on Titus 2 Tuesday!

Thank you for sharing this information Nicole! I am not yet a mother (soon Lord willing!) and the amount of children’s reading material, games, toys, etc available, contrary to God’s Word and Christian living, in this day and age is alarming! Obviously our protection over every influence our children are susceptible to is limited, but my prayer is to bring Jesus into the home in every way possible. #Titus2sDay 🙂

I found this post on Titus2Tuesday and I had to laugh about the title. I am coming out of Usborne and I am glad to have found your post. I glazed over the topics or products that I did not like or would not use because I reasoned that’s how the world is, but reading this I feel convicted by it. It is an alluring way to make money (if it works for you), but in the long run is it worth it? Do I really want to be associated with a company that makes no bones about being pro-evolution? I am finding more and more my answer is no. Great, thought provoking post.

I am an Usborne Consultant. I have been uneasy for a few weeks and I have in prayer about if I should continue. This VERY morning I was praying about it. I decided to check out Raising Homemakers and I found this and you are being a TRUE sister warning us. Thank YOU. I needed this.

Thank you so much for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. I was so worried that I might step on some toes by posting this, but at the same time, I couldn’t get it off of my heart and needed to say something. Thank you!

Hi Shanon, Sonlight’s philosophy is to include some secular books with mild language, evolutionary teachings, etc., if they believe that the good outweighs the bad. My stance now is that everything we do should be to glorify God, and we should “avoid evil” as scripture teaches. I’m not saying to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that the outside world doesn’t exist, but I want all of our studies to glorify God in the way they are presented. 🙂

Wow I had no idea! I have heard so much about Usborne but haven’t seen any of their books. I try hard to protect my husband’s heart & now as a new mom, the heart of my little son. No way do I want him reading “children’s books” with nudity! I’m shocked at the disgusting detail the illustrator went into in the book you shared. I’m going to watch the video now…

The Usborne books that are usually shared by consultants seem harmless and good, but the company definitely endorses and sells the ones I’ve shared here as well. 😦 I was shocked myself when they arrived in the curriculum package for my 5-6 year old daughter.

Wow! This post is so timely! I seriously was thinking about Usborne books at the beginning of this week, pondering becoming a rep. I am so thankful I found your post! I have seen some of their books and thought they were fine, but I had not seen the ones with nudity in them. Thank you so much for you care in this matter, sharing in such a gentle way and your encouragement to be more like Christ. Blessings!

Hey, Nicole! This is very informative! Did the books in the video come from the Sonlight curriculum? I was planning on using Sonlight in the future and I thought it was christian based. I am a little confused about why they are teaching evolution.

We use My Father’s World in Sonlight’s place as a “core” curriculum, along with other resources from Christian Light Education, Apologia, Teaching Textbooks, etc. I’ve been super happy with My Father’s World, they’ve worked with publishers to remove all evolutionary and questionable content from the books they sell.

Hi Nicole, I want to say thank you for this article and video. I am a Christian homeschool mom and I do sale Usborne books. I am aware of some of the negative material they publish and I do not purchase it myself for my own home, I have loved a lot of the material that is unrelated to the topics of evolution or history or less than appropriate image. I chose to become a consultant when I was definitely less aware of these things but am still selling. Honestly, I am so thankful to have read this. I need to truly evaluate what I am doing. It is my whole hearts desire to please the Lord and to raise my children to love and obey Him. While I know there will be many other Usborne consultants and even christian ones who will likely be offened by your article. I want you to know I am one who appreciates your love for the brethren and the Lord. Please pray for me as my husband and I discuss how we should think on this and move foreword. Bless you sister.

Thanks for your sweet and clear warning about Usborne. I agree with you that what we teach, allow our children to read is truth. I pray the Lord will bless you for standing up for His truth, and the Bibles account of creation.

I was going to start my comment out by saying, “You’ll probably take some heat for this article….” and then out of curiosity I read the comments and they encouraged my heart more than I can say! To have so many moms and women out there who take a stand for principle is so wonderful!!

I had to take a similar stand with a very well-known Christian University I attended. I chose that university because it was Christian, but it was going to cost me more money to attend. I was shocked when I got the textbooks first my first classes. Those same two elements were present in the textbooks: evolution and nudity.

Yes – I am an adult. I can filter it out. I was raised in the church my whole life…but not everyone who attends university is a seasoned Christian with solid beliefs. What of the new Christian who is still uncertain about Creation vs. Evolution? What about the Christian who is coming out of a porn addiction?

I’m so thankful for this post! I had been considering purchasing and becoming a consultant. Something in me kept me back. I’m so thankful that I listened to what I know was the Holy Spirit warning me from it.
Add me to the thankful list! 🙂

I am an independent consultant with Usborne Books & More. We are quite conservative Christians, so I have actually thought about this personally. We used Sonlight and now use My Father’s World curriculum, for various reasons. We are creationists.

That being said, I personally do not promote books that contain evolution.

However, I would also like to point out that Zondervan Publishing, who prints a large percentage of the books at the various Christian bookstores, is owned by Harper Collins who prints secular books and the satanic bible!

Do I wish the Science Encyclopedia did not include a rather large portion about the evolution of animals? Or that 100 Things to Know About Science did not suggest we evolved from apes?

Certainly!!

However, UBAM has allowed me to get loads of Bibles to my local pregnancy center and is filled with fellow Christian (even homeschooling) women and men.

Will I continue to shop at the Christian bookstore? Yes.

We can run our businesses as we choose and can provide tailor-made suggestions to anyone concerned about content, just as we can find customers books about princesses, horses, or computer coding.

While I disagree, thanks for stopping by. I believe that saying never shop at Harper Collins, etc. would be foolish. If you are being a good steward and purchasing items which are not necessarily Christian, but do not violate principles in the Bible, then I don’t believe Biblically there is a problem. There is a problem with knowingly selling items which directly contradict God’s truth though. If you knowingly sell somebody something which only strengthens their stance that God did not create the world and people (and thus stealing His glory and ownership), will God hold you accountable? I believe so. That is all that this post is about, most Usborne books are great!

So I guess you never shop at Target? Never let people know about a good deal at Target? Because Target by any means is a Christian based company so I hope you shop there. Oh and don’t get me started in Starbucks who have a naked girl on every single coffee cup they serve…

Almost everything has something secular tide to it… Unless it’s the bible. I even think Veggie tales has certain videos that have comments or a “scary” person in it that I don’t think is very “christian” for kids.

I think you are very wrong for putting off a company because of a couple pages in a few books. I have several Usborne books, they are amazing for homeschooling and I am very strong, devoted christian.

Instead of blogging about things you dislike, maybe trying talking about the things you love. God is love, not hate.

Amber, if I may, I would like to point out that your reply doesn’t come across as very “loving.” I could take your comment, and say the same to you that you said to me, “why don’t you try commenting on what you love instead of what you hate.” For the record, I don’t buy Starbucks, I and I avoided shopping at Target for 5 years. However, the point of his post has nothing to do with that. It has to do with Christians knowingly selling material that contradicts the Bible. That is wrong. Most of Usborne is great, which I pointed out in the video. But, one rotten egg will spoil the whole dozen if cooked together, and this is simply a caution for Christians (not anyone else) to be careful of making a profit in leading people astray from God’s truth.

I have to say that I agree with Amber. If you are going to avoid something like Usborne Books because of pro-evolution and “nudity”, which, by the way is natural and how God made us, you are going to have to look into EVERYTHING you buy, sell. EVERYWHERE you go. You say you didn’t shop at Target for 5 years? Did you start again? Too incinvienient to stand up and do the right thing? How many people reading this went to public school? And of all of the people reading this who was taught evolution? And how many of you believe it? I don’t know about you, but my God is bigger than some naked cartoons and some references to Big Bangs. (The pictures in the book are not pornography or anything even remotely close.)

Of course God is bigger than references in a few books, but my desire is to be as pleasing to God as I can be…to follow His ways by His grace to the best of my ability.

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23

I never said that Usborne books should be avoided, just that selling certain books is a problem. As far as the Target mention, I keep a close watch on corporations which give a portion of their funds to abortion right advocacy, and I shop accordingly. When policies change, so do my shopping habits.

I am so glad to read your article and see your video. I bought the consultant starter kit and immediately had hesitations after opening the first book. It was I’m a Dirty Dinosaur, which is on the best seller list. In it is the phrase “oh my gosh” which is too close to taking the Lord’s name in vain for me to feel comfortable owning or selling it. Then I also noticed the same thing with evolution in the Encyclopedia of World History. I know that if you walk in Books a Million to buy a book for your child you will encounter the same worldly viewpoints so I don’t necessarily want to stop buying, but do I want to sell? I’m still considering what to do on that since I already bought the kit and hosted a party. But what’s different from a retail store is that you can’t read the book or check for content before the book is already in your home, though the company does allow for exchanges and refunds. I wish there were a list for Christians to reference in order to know before they buy if it contains non-Christian content. That’s what I was searching for when I found your article.

I have to agree with a previous poster, your POV is skewed. If you suggest for people to support this great company is going against God, you have to apply it to literally EVERYTHING. The very means of you getting this out there is the biggest supporter of every sin possible. The World Wide Web promotes sex, greed, gluttony, lies, murder, ect,ect, ect. You shouldn’t shop at walmart or work there, fast food shouldn’t be purchased, basically you should live like the Amish to be fully invested in the world of God in a way you’re suggesting. This business gives it’s consultants the ability to tailor themselves in a way they are comfortable, the books are educational and well made. They also teach credical thinking, something lacking very much in the world today. God bless and I hope you achieve the level of Godly being you think others should live by.

Jen, there is a big difference from buying a book about weather or dress up dolls from Usborne and SELLING and PROMOTING items which are directly contrary to God’s Word if you are a Christian. Making money from items which directly oppose God’s truth about evolution and other things, is wrong. I stand by that.

Thank you for sharing your opinion. I am an Usborne Independent Sales Consultant and do not feel this way. Did you know that Usborne also has Bible story books that teach about the Bible and God? I guess you have to look at this like so many other things in this world. When is the last time you had a Starbucks Coffee or shopped at Walmart or even bought a Disney movie or toy? Do you use Tide or Dawn soaps? Do you bake cakes using Betty Crocker cake mix? Do you recommend these companies to your friends? All these companies pump tons on money into things we disagree with as Christians (such as lobbing for the LGBT and same sex marriage and teaching evolution and the big bang theory in schools) but we continue to support them. I myself am guilty of singling out specific things that catch my eye. With that being said I do appreciate your opinion. Thank you for sharing.

Hi Sara, thank you so much for your input, however, I believe there is a huge difference between purchasing products and selling/endorsing them. That is what this post is about. Making money off of items that teach the opposite of God’s truth is wrong. Personally, our family does not shop at Starbucks, Target, and is growing more wary of Disney by the day. Thanks for stopping by.

I am an Usborne consultant and have to say I liked reading your post. I steer my customers away from most of the bibles stories and anything that is against my own beliefs. While knowing that Usborne is a secular company, I do like their general knowledge books with the engaging flaps and other manipulatives offered. However, I have read enough of their bible story books to determine that it’s pure twaddle. One book went so far as to imply Jesus was naughty and disobedient to his parents for disappearing at the temple. I was aghast! However, several consultants I’ve met stated they were raised in the Baptist church (and advocated they are still strong Christians) were raised to believe that same sentiment so they don’t see any issues. I’d say Usborne’s theology is murky at best.

I do think spreading joy through reading is one path God has led me down for two years now. And it’s always just enough to help cover unexpected expenses so it won’t effect our tight budget. Selling Usborne can be a good thing, if the consultant is willing to edit out those books not glorifying to our Lord. I grew up conservative Congregational in New England and am still wildly in love with my Father. I believe that sometimes things, like this, aren’t always cut and dried – it can be useful. There have been numerous occasions where the selling of these books have led into developing relationships with women who either weren’t believers at all or were weak in their faith – and through a professional team management relationship I was able to plant the seed for God to take over their lives. He’s still using me, through my book selling, to reach women and until He leads me elsewhere, I’m assured His plan is sound.

Thank you for sharing your convictions on this. I hosted a party a while back, and have been really thinking about joining so I can get books at a discount. (There are still so many more I’d love to buy, and my son loves the ones we already bought.) I haven’t done anything like this before, so I have been Google searching all the reviews I could about selling Usborne. Mostly I was looking for reasons not to do it. I knew from reading reviews on individual books that evolution and nudity were issues with some of the books. One book in particular (out of print, but still listed on the site) is a book of “true” ghost stories; that title alone made me really question if joining would be right.

Your video was helpful for me- I didn’t realize how extensively evolution was taught in some of these books. I could skip over a few lines about cavemen, but I can’t ignore the fully illustrated pages of how man supposedly came from apes. Even though I could choose not to read those books to my kids, I can’t justify allowing the opportunity for such garbage to be given to other children, and furthermore to profit from it.

Ultimately, my answer is from the Word. Matthew 14:22-23 “Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.”

Hi Nicole, thank you so much for writing this. I just attended an Usborne Facebook party and I was very interested in becoming a consultant. Because I’m a professional marketer, I instantly saw how I can scale and leverage it and earn a passive income pretty quickly. Selling children’s books! Earning children’s books! What homeschooling mom wouldn’t love that, right?

I’m so glad God brought me to this post right away. I would never, ever want material like that in my children’s hands, and there’s no way I can pass it on to another child. God has given me a much better business idea that I’ve been working on, and I feel so loved and thankful that He kept me from wasting time and energy on this side venture. Whew! Saved $75 too.

What I’m most disappointed about… crushed… is hearing about Sonlight. I thought I had found the perfect curriculum and I was planning to start with my oldest who’s 3. I gobbled up their entire catalog, consumed in how PERFECT it seemed. I’m dumbfounded that they would include material like this. At first I thought, well maybe I’ll have the kids skip those books, but really? If Sonlight allowed that material, then that shows a skewed screening process altogether. What are we going to do, read every single page of every single book in every single grade before handing it to our child?

My only desire for me and my family is that we are aligned with the Lord’s will for our lives. Thank you again, sister in Christ. I’m really glad to have discovered your blog 🙂

Hey there! I don’t think you need to be this concerned about Sonlight. This is my third year of using it, and, though there are mentions of evolutionary (maybe 2-3), there are biblical explanations in the instructional guides for teachers. It is basically to show the children that, even though this is not truth, it is the viewpoint of a lot of the world. So, basically just introducing the “truth” of other views and opinions. And that is the truth. There are and will always be different views of the world. It is not what my children know as the truth of how we came to be, but simply as another view out there. Good luck! Sonlight is awesome!

Hi! I have a three-year old, and recently began using Usborne books to start up a little preschool program for her. She loves them, and she has really learned a lot from them. l have not personally encountered it in any of the titles we own, but nude illustration bothers me. Sharpie can fix that, though, and we must admit that some ancient cultures believed strange things and apparently did not know much about–well–clothing. I agree, though…5 or 6 year olds should not be exposed to that kind of stuff; only discerning, virtuous older teens or adults with purely educational motives. On another note, I personally have no problem including the possibility that evolution and big bang did occur as part of her education, as long as she learns to attribute the possibility of these widely-accepted occurrences to the wondrous creative power of our God. I do not wish to argue this point, but to indicate some other troubling stuff we mom’s need to watch out for as we select from amongst these otherwise awesome books:

1) Emphasis on climate change and global warming. Several earth- and geography-related titles work these annoying, preachy, people-are-destructive, environmental themes into their content. Use discernment, prescreen with youtube videos, or avoid these ones altogether.

2) Skewed view of human sexuality. Out of curiosity, I have read reviews on a couple titles geared towards adolescent teens regarding changes in the body that occur during these years. Many of the reviews pointed out that the books present certain ungodly sexual practices and fantasies as normal and acceptable. On the other hand, the anatomy titles for young kids seem to be excellent informational sources.

3) Disgusting, demeaning bodily function titles. “Everybody Poops,” “The Story of Farts,” and the brand new “First Questions and Answers: What is Poop?” Eew. Now, I am no prude; I suffer from a weakness for giggling at relatively innocent bathroom humor. But seriously, I dont need it staring me in the face from my bookshelf, nor do I want the existence of these titles in my home to showcase my immaturity to the world.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and it’s totally fine that you feel that way personally. I think it’s wonderful that you don’t need or want to be a consultant because it’s not a good fit for you. As a consultant, I have never sold a book that I didn’t personally recommend or show during a party or conversation with a customer. If someone asks about a book, I’m totally honest about its contents. Every team has a list of books that have controversial topics or images that you can avoid. This may not be a Christian based company but they do offer a wide selection of amazing Christian books and bible stories. The company is amazing to its consultants and is so supportive of their families and beliefs. I have a question for you and it’s weighing heavily on my heart. How is taking a platform such as your website, to say that selling these books is going against the Lord and basically putting down a company overall because of that, and ultimately taking business and income away from other mothers and their children, the right thing to do? Do you truly feel that is what the lord would want you to do? It’s hurting my heart that you feel that all consultants are doing wrong by the Lord when most mothers and consultants just want to do what’s right for their families and the Lord. This post is all based on 10 year old books and a 10 year old curriculum and showing that as a current example isn’t really fair to consultants. That’s basically saying that any employee of any store or company anywhere in the United States, with the exception of the church and Christian companies, are going against the Lord. I have to believe that My Lord and savior, wouldn’t think that spreading literacy and benefitting my community with support from our amazing programs and books, while helping to support my family and being blessed with more time together as a family , is going against Him. 😔

Hi Kate! The problem lies in that as an Usborne consultant, you are still representing the ungodly books that they offer. The books I showed examples of are still being sold by Usborne. I’m not taking income away from anyone, for it is God who is the giver of every good gift. It is not wrong to share my heart on a topic, nor to publically review a company’s offerings. People do this all of the time on Amazon and many other places online. I’m blessed to have this platform to share with other women. Selling books that are neutral to issues of faith isn’t a problem, but selling or representing books that are ungodly is. There is a difference.

I am so glad I came across this article. I just participated in my first Usborne facebook party. As a home schooling mother of 5, I love books and seriously began considering becoming a consultant. We use a number of Usborne books for school. I have eally enjoyed those we own. But they are all from MFW so I know the content has been screened. This post has saved me from something I wouldn’t want to promote.

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The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.